Step Three - delivering a complex code very simply
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 3:41 pm
Delivering a complex code very simply:
The 'teacher' needs to stay focused on the teaching of Alphabetic Code knowledge (that is the relationship between the letter/s and sounds known as letter/s-sound correspondences or phoneme-grapheme correspondences - see The Alphabetic Code charts free in unit 1) and the three basic skills of blending all-through-the-word for reading, segmenting (splitting up the sounds) all-through-the-spoken-word (and knowing the letters or letter combinations to represent the identified sounds); and handwriting the letter shapes.
[Please note that the free Alphabetic Code Charts for the Phonics International programme and for general use for teaching, for learning, for teacher-training and for informing the general public are now all available at:
www.alphabeticcodecharts.com ]
This is all described in detail in the free Overview and Guidance booklet available in unit 1 (and also available to download in all other units/modules).
The link below shows you what the letter/s-sound correspondences are:
http://alphabeticcodecharts.com/B1_DH%2 ... colour.pdf
Remember that slash marks /-/ around a letter or letter group denote the 'sound' or 'phoneme' represented by the letter or letters. We can refer to the smallest identifiable sounds as 'phonemes' and letters or letter groups as 'graphemes'. Say the correct 'sound' of the letter/s when you see it in slash marks; e.g. /s/ = "ssss" and not "ess".
General statements for beginner learners and younger learners might be:
"I'm going to teach you all about letters and sounds so that you can begin to learn how to read and write."
SKILL 1 - Statement about learning to read:
"Watch and listen as I change the letters in the words into sounds and notice how I can blend the sounds into spoken words. This is how we learn to read."
Now point under the letters from left to right of a simple example, either written down or made up from magnetic letters, letters on Can Do Cubes or Grapheme Tiles (supplied throughout the PI unit webpages): s - a - t "/s/ /a/ /t/, 'sat'".
[note: see
http://www.phonicsinternational.net/Can ... 45521.aspx
for 'Debbie Hepplewhite's synthetic phonics for Can Do Cubes - a multi-sensory 'hands-on' wooden cubes set which can complement this programme.]
SKILL 2 - Statement about learning to spell:
"I'm going to teach you about the code that adults use to change their speech (talking) into letters and words. This is how we spell."
You can use magnetic letters or Grapheme Tiles (provided throughout the units in Phonics International) or letters on Can Do Cubes - or just write down the letters from left to right as you need them. Say a simple word like 'sit' as slowly as you can: "'sit' /s/ /i/ /t/. The individual sounds (phonemes) all-through-the-spoken-word will sort of 'pop out' so that they are identifiable.
Say, "This letter shape is code for /s/, this letter is code for /i/ and this letter is code for /t/." Continue, "Now let's check that we have made the word 'sit' by saying the sounds and blending them together again. /s/ /i/ /t/, 'sit'."
SKILL 3 - Statement about learning to write letter shapes:
"I'm going to teach you how to hold your pencil well and how to write these letter shapes so that you can begin to do your own writing."
Demonstrate a good pencil-hold and use a saying (especially for beginners and younger learners) such as "Use your froggy legs (thumb and index finger of the writing hand making a pinching motion) and put the log under (middle finger supporting the pencil and creating a 'tripod' pencil hold). Even if you, yourself, do not use this grip, consider teaching it anyway. Explain that it is the best grip especially as the learner's hand (if it is a young learner) grows bigger and bigger and still has to hold the same size pencil!
Handwriting opportunities are provided throughout the programme and teachers may adapt the printed letters by adding 'joins - leaders and tails' and/or by writing a sample letter at a preferred smaller size where necessary. There are also discrete handwriting practice resources provided and charts which consist only of The Alphabet letter shapes - lower case and upper case.
[Please note that the three core skills and their sub-skills (above) are now fully described in simple posters on the 'Free Resources' page in the blue box entitled, IMPORTANT. These are very helpful posters and it is recommended that they are printed off for supporting adults' folders and/or displayed around the school or teaching area:
http://www.phonicsinternational.com/new ... urces.html ]
The Sounds Book activity sheets - core resource of the programme:
The most important resource to support you in teaching any age of learner are the Sounds Book activity sheets. These will provide you with information about the necessary Alphabetic Code knowledge every step of the way. The teacher does not have to know all the detailed information before starting the programme which is precisely why the details are provided in this 'ongoing' way. The Sounds Book activity sheets also enable other people than the main teacher to do some of the teaching. In a school-setting this might be teaching assistants or substitute teachers or specialist teachers or job-share teachers. In a home-setting this might be a partner or other relation who is helping or supervising the teaching and learning.
Home Tutors may even share some of the teaching with parents at home because the information for each Sounds Book activity sheet is explicit and learners themselves soon get used to the routines and need little or no prompting with how to do the activities on the sheets.
The Sounds Book activity sheets are suitable for learners of all ages including learners who need 'gaps' filled in their Alphabetic Code knowledge and rehearsal of the blending and segmenting skills. It is best to fill any gaps in code knowledge from the earliest stages of the programme and then move 'forwards' as the general vocabulary tends to increase in difficulty throughout the programme.
At any point, teachers may wish to add their own words with the same spelling patterns to widen the learner's vocabulary bank and experience as appropriate.
So, let's recap. The Phonics International programme is simply about teaching Alphabetic Code knowledge and the three skills of blending, segmenting (splitting up spoken words) and handwriting - and then applying the code knowledge and the three skills to reading and writing at text level.
Cumulative words are provided through various resources for the learners to practise their code knowledge at word level. Cumulative words are words which consist only of letter/s-sound correspondences (the alphabetic code) taught to date.
Text level resources are provided (I can read texts) to apply the blending skills beyond word level to sentence and text level.
Aim to use the Sounds Book activity sheets alternating with the corresponding 'I can read' texts once the learners are beyond just 'word level' practice.
Teachers need to focus on building up a vocabulary bank, speaking and listening skills and comprehension skills at all times.
Ultimately, raise awareness of the need to recall 'spelling word banks' where words are spelt with the same letter/s-sound correspondences. The 'I can read' texts, the Questions resource, the associated full colour pictures and the spelling word banks with black and white line pictures all help the learners to recall the spelling word banks - especially for the second half of the Phonics International programme (units 7 to 12).
The Phonics International programme teaches reading (decoding) and spelling (encoding) from the beginning until the learner/s can read and then it shifts seamlessly into a systematic spelling programme.
A piece of decodable text is provided throughout the programme for each letter/s-sound correspondence introduced and revised but once the learner can read sufficiently by blending, then a wider range of reading material needs to be provided.
Other resources in the programme are designed to support the main teaching in the Sounds Book activity sheets (such as the Picture Posters and the Mini Posters). There are also resources to enable manipulation of letter/s and sounds such as the Grapheme Cards (can also be referred to as 'tiles') and the Pairs Games. The sets of letter/s-sound correspondence Flash Cards are particularly suitable for school-settings - whole classes and group work.
Rehearsal of learning is provided through resources such as the Say the Sounds booklets and the Say the Sounds posters as well as the quick-response Flash Card sessions.
Whilst there are many resources in the Phonics International programme, there is no need for all resources to be used. The individual context and the needs of the teacher and learner should determine the use of the many resources in the programme.
Remember that users, and potential users, of the Phonics International programme can ask me for specific advice for use of the resources at any time.
Please remember that I will also happily provide advice for people even if they are not using the Phonics International programme specifically.
The 'teacher' needs to stay focused on the teaching of Alphabetic Code knowledge (that is the relationship between the letter/s and sounds known as letter/s-sound correspondences or phoneme-grapheme correspondences - see The Alphabetic Code charts free in unit 1) and the three basic skills of blending all-through-the-word for reading, segmenting (splitting up the sounds) all-through-the-spoken-word (and knowing the letters or letter combinations to represent the identified sounds); and handwriting the letter shapes.
[Please note that the free Alphabetic Code Charts for the Phonics International programme and for general use for teaching, for learning, for teacher-training and for informing the general public are now all available at:
www.alphabeticcodecharts.com ]
This is all described in detail in the free Overview and Guidance booklet available in unit 1 (and also available to download in all other units/modules).
The link below shows you what the letter/s-sound correspondences are:
http://alphabeticcodecharts.com/B1_DH%2 ... colour.pdf
Remember that slash marks /-/ around a letter or letter group denote the 'sound' or 'phoneme' represented by the letter or letters. We can refer to the smallest identifiable sounds as 'phonemes' and letters or letter groups as 'graphemes'. Say the correct 'sound' of the letter/s when you see it in slash marks; e.g. /s/ = "ssss" and not "ess".
General statements for beginner learners and younger learners might be:
"I'm going to teach you all about letters and sounds so that you can begin to learn how to read and write."
SKILL 1 - Statement about learning to read:
"Watch and listen as I change the letters in the words into sounds and notice how I can blend the sounds into spoken words. This is how we learn to read."
Now point under the letters from left to right of a simple example, either written down or made up from magnetic letters, letters on Can Do Cubes or Grapheme Tiles (supplied throughout the PI unit webpages): s - a - t "/s/ /a/ /t/, 'sat'".
[note: see
http://www.phonicsinternational.net/Can ... 45521.aspx
for 'Debbie Hepplewhite's synthetic phonics for Can Do Cubes - a multi-sensory 'hands-on' wooden cubes set which can complement this programme.]
SKILL 2 - Statement about learning to spell:
"I'm going to teach you about the code that adults use to change their speech (talking) into letters and words. This is how we spell."
You can use magnetic letters or Grapheme Tiles (provided throughout the units in Phonics International) or letters on Can Do Cubes - or just write down the letters from left to right as you need them. Say a simple word like 'sit' as slowly as you can: "'sit' /s/ /i/ /t/. The individual sounds (phonemes) all-through-the-spoken-word will sort of 'pop out' so that they are identifiable.
Say, "This letter shape is code for /s/, this letter is code for /i/ and this letter is code for /t/." Continue, "Now let's check that we have made the word 'sit' by saying the sounds and blending them together again. /s/ /i/ /t/, 'sit'."
SKILL 3 - Statement about learning to write letter shapes:
"I'm going to teach you how to hold your pencil well and how to write these letter shapes so that you can begin to do your own writing."
Demonstrate a good pencil-hold and use a saying (especially for beginners and younger learners) such as "Use your froggy legs (thumb and index finger of the writing hand making a pinching motion) and put the log under (middle finger supporting the pencil and creating a 'tripod' pencil hold). Even if you, yourself, do not use this grip, consider teaching it anyway. Explain that it is the best grip especially as the learner's hand (if it is a young learner) grows bigger and bigger and still has to hold the same size pencil!
Handwriting opportunities are provided throughout the programme and teachers may adapt the printed letters by adding 'joins - leaders and tails' and/or by writing a sample letter at a preferred smaller size where necessary. There are also discrete handwriting practice resources provided and charts which consist only of The Alphabet letter shapes - lower case and upper case.
[Please note that the three core skills and their sub-skills (above) are now fully described in simple posters on the 'Free Resources' page in the blue box entitled, IMPORTANT. These are very helpful posters and it is recommended that they are printed off for supporting adults' folders and/or displayed around the school or teaching area:
http://www.phonicsinternational.com/new ... urces.html ]
The Sounds Book activity sheets - core resource of the programme:
The most important resource to support you in teaching any age of learner are the Sounds Book activity sheets. These will provide you with information about the necessary Alphabetic Code knowledge every step of the way. The teacher does not have to know all the detailed information before starting the programme which is precisely why the details are provided in this 'ongoing' way. The Sounds Book activity sheets also enable other people than the main teacher to do some of the teaching. In a school-setting this might be teaching assistants or substitute teachers or specialist teachers or job-share teachers. In a home-setting this might be a partner or other relation who is helping or supervising the teaching and learning.
Home Tutors may even share some of the teaching with parents at home because the information for each Sounds Book activity sheet is explicit and learners themselves soon get used to the routines and need little or no prompting with how to do the activities on the sheets.
The Sounds Book activity sheets are suitable for learners of all ages including learners who need 'gaps' filled in their Alphabetic Code knowledge and rehearsal of the blending and segmenting skills. It is best to fill any gaps in code knowledge from the earliest stages of the programme and then move 'forwards' as the general vocabulary tends to increase in difficulty throughout the programme.
At any point, teachers may wish to add their own words with the same spelling patterns to widen the learner's vocabulary bank and experience as appropriate.
So, let's recap. The Phonics International programme is simply about teaching Alphabetic Code knowledge and the three skills of blending, segmenting (splitting up spoken words) and handwriting - and then applying the code knowledge and the three skills to reading and writing at text level.
Cumulative words are provided through various resources for the learners to practise their code knowledge at word level. Cumulative words are words which consist only of letter/s-sound correspondences (the alphabetic code) taught to date.
Text level resources are provided (I can read texts) to apply the blending skills beyond word level to sentence and text level.
Aim to use the Sounds Book activity sheets alternating with the corresponding 'I can read' texts once the learners are beyond just 'word level' practice.
Teachers need to focus on building up a vocabulary bank, speaking and listening skills and comprehension skills at all times.
Ultimately, raise awareness of the need to recall 'spelling word banks' where words are spelt with the same letter/s-sound correspondences. The 'I can read' texts, the Questions resource, the associated full colour pictures and the spelling word banks with black and white line pictures all help the learners to recall the spelling word banks - especially for the second half of the Phonics International programme (units 7 to 12).
The Phonics International programme teaches reading (decoding) and spelling (encoding) from the beginning until the learner/s can read and then it shifts seamlessly into a systematic spelling programme.
A piece of decodable text is provided throughout the programme for each letter/s-sound correspondence introduced and revised but once the learner can read sufficiently by blending, then a wider range of reading material needs to be provided.
Other resources in the programme are designed to support the main teaching in the Sounds Book activity sheets (such as the Picture Posters and the Mini Posters). There are also resources to enable manipulation of letter/s and sounds such as the Grapheme Cards (can also be referred to as 'tiles') and the Pairs Games. The sets of letter/s-sound correspondence Flash Cards are particularly suitable for school-settings - whole classes and group work.
Rehearsal of learning is provided through resources such as the Say the Sounds booklets and the Say the Sounds posters as well as the quick-response Flash Card sessions.
Whilst there are many resources in the Phonics International programme, there is no need for all resources to be used. The individual context and the needs of the teacher and learner should determine the use of the many resources in the programme.
Remember that users, and potential users, of the Phonics International programme can ask me for specific advice for use of the resources at any time.
Please remember that I will also happily provide advice for people even if they are not using the Phonics International programme specifically.